ARA begins membership review

The Association is to review its membership structure and member benefits. A tender process to find consultants to undertake the work has begun.

The ARA Board agreed the need for a ‘root and branch’ piece of work led by Board members Catherine Taylor, Laura Cotton and David Mander, who hold the relevant portfolios. The team had shared with the Board their initial findings on how the ARA might extend its membership offer to users and non-professionals. The Board agreed that, two years after the merger, the time was right for an in-depth look at all aspects of the membership structure and offer and a narrower decision on an expanded ‘user’ membership should not be rushed through.

Work is expected to be completed by the end of February 2013, so any changes in membership structure can be presented to the AGM in May 2013.

ARA Chair Martin Taylor said: ‘ARA is and will continue to be the professional body for archivists and all those working in the archives and records sector and we must be confident we are delivering what practitioners need. But we should acknowledge that if we are successfully to take on and develop the work of the former National Council on Archives, our offer for users, owners and other stakeholders who wish to join us needs to be improved'.